________________
President Yoweri Museveni has told the young people seeking leadership positions in the country that this is their time to show them that they can lead well.
He made the remarks on Saturday (July 5) after being nominated unopposed as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party national chairman and presidential candidate in next year's general election.
His nomination at the NRM headquarters in Kampala marked the conclusion of the party's nomination exercise at all levels, Parliament, councillors, LC5, and the topmost, central executive committee.
He congratulated the millions of newly elected NRM structure leaders from the villages upwards.
"It is so pleasing to see so many, mainly young people, coming up as the new crop of NRM leaders. It is now your chance to show that you can lead well," he told the young people, who had also accompanied him to be nominated.
Museveni, who has led the country uninterrupted since seizing power in January 1986, asked the young people to remember to manage politics successfully as they (their predecessors) managed to do.
"You need to know that productive politics is about ideology (philosophy, ideology and strategy), not just about biology (age, gender, etc)," he said.
He noted that looking at all the economic statistics since 1986, the performance has been good, if not excellent.
"However, we can achieve even greater progress if we decisively eliminate corruption," he said.
He noted that in deciding to seek re-election, he was responding to the millions of Ugandans who have been ordering him with the slogan 'Tova ku main', which he translated as 'do not leave the main electricity line'.
He thanked the NRM electoral commission for nominating him and the nominators and seconders, plus the party lawyers and the secretariat who organised his documents.
"I hope the whole membership of the NRM and its structures will support my candidature as NRM chairman for 2025-2031 period and also as flag-bearer for the NRM in the presidential contest for the 2026-2031 period," he said.